Tag Archives: ships

Moreton Bay is just at the end of the street where I live so there seemed nowhere better to set my books. Walking along the shores today there’s little resemblance to what was here in and around 1850 but if I close my eyes… no definitely not much is the same apart from the sun the sea and the sand. Hence a writer has to develop a fertile imagination.

The convict colony in closed in 1842, a few years before the Great Famine in Ireland and long before Queensland succeeded from New South Wales in 1859. So Brisbane was the perfect place for Mary, Liam and their friends to come for a new start.

The Port of Brisbane these days sees thousands of ships and every year more cargo inward and outward than those long ago sailors ever dreamed. The terminal a little further up the river now sees huge cruise ships instead of clipper ships. On the bay there are still fishing boats though very different as well. Then there are the jet skis and kite boarders beneath the planes taking off and landing at the international and domestic airports. Even the kites flown most weekends… you get the picture.

Twenty years ago, when I first started coming with my husband to visit his parents in the family home, my mother-in-law and I would walk along the shoreline. Occasionally we would see dolphins out in the water. It’s been years since I saw one. I believe there are still some there along with the turtles and dugongs but nowhere near as many. The huge ships, speed boats and the like have their downside.

Each time period has it’s own positives and negatives. Life was tough back then though much more simple. Visiting the Moreton Bay of the 1850s through my research has given me a different outlook on that water at the end of our street.

As part of the gathering of the clans, I am up in Rockhampton, Central Queensland. People are arriving from everywhere. My great-nephew and his sister are here from New Zealand, sisters and other family arriving from all over.

My trip up was… interesting. I can’t remember how long ago it was when I flew in a propeller driven plane! It felt a little, dare I say, archaic? We really are spoiled in this modern world. So many things we take for granted. Warm clothes, cool air-conditioning, fast jet planes and more food than we could eat or than is good for us! Especially now, food has been arriving for days. I’m with my nephew and his family at the moment and she is saying she hasn’t had to cook in days!

What a different world it is, even in this age, in other parts of the world some not so far away and others not so long ago in history. Excuse me for harping on about the Irish Famine, but that’s the era I’ve been “living in” for the last I-don’t-want-to-say how many years. It hard to imagine a world without electricity for a start! Add to that the transport problems.

At that time in history steam ships were the newest latest whizz bang technology. Sailing ship captains navigated by the stars without the aid of computers and it took months to travel from Ireland to Moreton Bay off and Brisbane. Many didn’t make it that far. Shipwrecks were not uncommon either.

When I was tempted to turf Rosaleen off the “Reliance” in Africa. My critique partner wisely told me I shouldn’t. Rosaleen is, she said, was “such a good bad character”. After nearly being pushed overboard again in the Great Australian Bight, I relented and she survived! She kept trying to take over the story in “Torn” but I’m pleased to report she has settled for being the leading lady in “Shattered”, the follow on book from “Torn”.

Before I go, spare a thought for Liam’s horses on the “Reliance”. Every horse in Australia came at some time from overseas. It wasn’t easy to transport horses and it was not easy to research how they did it! But that’s a story for another time.